


You and I Aren't Cracked

by rainbowtourmaline



Category: Free!, Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Five Stages of Grief, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Getting to Know Each Other, Grief/Mourning, Humor, Innuendo, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Loss, Slow Build, Steven Universe AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-09
Updated: 2016-05-31
Packaged: 2018-04-25 14:25:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4964140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainbowtourmaline/pseuds/rainbowtourmaline
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Free! fic set in the Steven Universe universe. </p><p>After dealing with a lot of heartbreak, Sousuke and other gem friends are finally leaving Homeworld! </p><p>However, Makoto doesn't make the journey out of that janked up planet easy.</p><p><b>Please note:</b> This fanfic is officially on hiatus for the foreseeable future due to new information revealed on the Steven universe show. I may rewrite this entire fanfic series once both Free! and Steven Universe stop airing new episodes but until then, this fanfic has officially been dropped. I apologise if you enjoyed this fanfic and thank you for your positive feedback.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Doctor Makoto Tachibana

**Author's Note:**

> If you haven't watched Steven Universe, please know that this fic contains spoilers and has concepts you might not understand if you haven't seen the series.

Sousuke wiped the grease from his forehead and breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
"I-I can't believe it." the moonstone gem beside him gasped as he had watched Sousuke assemble the final piece. His pretty blue eyes shone brighter than the stars that littered the sky where their friend Momo stood under to keep watch. "After all that work it's finally, it's finally-" the little guy choked on a sob as big globs of tears gushed down his face.   
  
"Hey, hey." Sousuke gently shushed the younger gem as he started babbling. Sousuke grimaced at the oil-stained cloth in his hand and grabbed another one to softly dab at the tears on his friend's face. Getting grease stains out of the beauty mark where the little guy's gem was placed would be a pain and they didn't have enough time to be concerned about gem hygiene. "What's with the water works Ai?"  
  
"I never thought this day would come. I wanted to believe what you and Momo said, but in my heart of hearts I never thought this day would come." Nitori sniffed, helping his senpai by scrubbing at the tears on his face with his palms. It didn't do much good as they would't stop coming. "Sorry. I shouldn't be crying like this but when Rin disappeared, I had lost hope that things would ever get better but now that I'm here with you and Momo... I..." Sousuke surrendered his cloth to Ai completely and patted him on the back while Ai let the tears flow. If his drill sergeant had been watching, he'd reprimand Sousuke for coddling the moonstone gem like this but Sousuke refused to listen to the voice of his commander. He was done listening to him and with luck, Sousuke would be done listening to him forever. "I'm just so thankful I have you and Momo now, Sousuke."  
  
"Me too Ai." Sousuke said, rubbing circles into Ai's back. "Me too."   
  
He heard the team's official secret knock at the door and saw a head of red hair poke through the gap.  
  
"Is it ready?" Momo's gold eyes gleamed in excitement, but his tone suggested even he was too anxious to start celebrating just yet.  
  
Sousuke allowed Momo to get his hopes way up by sporting the biggest grin his cheeks could manage.   
  
"Lady Samezuka is ready to set sail." Momo's scream of delight would have deafened another man, but Sousuke had grown used to Momo's noise levels and couldn't bring himself to tell the younger man off when he grabbed Nitori and started twirling him around the garage. For Sousuke the sight of Momo and Nitori's happiness together was both nostalgic yet bittersweet, so he allowed the pair their little dance.  
  
"This means we'll be leaving in two days." Momo said, as if he could hardly believe the good news. He was panting hard, already exhausted from his dance and the weight of holding the smaller gem in his arms. However, Momo refused to let go.   
  
"Yes." Nitori said while staring at Momo, his eyes shining the way they did when Sousuke had finished his work. He wrapped his arms around Momo's neck like he would never let go.  
  
"This means in two days we'll finally be, we can finally be-" Nitori didn't let Momo finish that sentence and bridged the gap between them in a passionate, sweet kiss that spoke of all the couple's hopes and dreams for when they would get off of this cracked planet. Sousuke coughed and turned his chair around to give the couple some privacy, his face flushing when Momo decided to deepen the kiss. Sousue wasn't comfortable with public displays of affection but he'd give them another minute before breaking them apart.  
  
"Who on Earth left the door open? Guys, you know how important security is- WHOA! I DO NOT NEED TO SEE THAT!" Sousuke breathed a sigh of relief when Seijuro broke apart the happy couple for him. "I support you guys 100% but there's certain things a big brother does not need to see!"   
  
"Onii-chan, you're embarrassing Ai!"  
  
"No he's not!" Nitori squeaked as his ears burnt bright red. Sousuke laughed, hardly believe someone so blue could turn red from sheer shame even though he had been having a secret affair with Momo for what felt like years. _Oh Ai_. "I'm so sorry Seijuro."  
  
"Don't be at all sorry Ai, after all I'm sure my brother was the one who instigated the inappropriate, public display of affection!"   
  
"I did not!" Momo spluttered.   
  
"Did so!"   
  
"Did not!"   
  
"Did so!"   
  
"Well you and Kou-chan are just as bad, if not worse!" Momo cried. "What would Rin-chan think if he could see the things you have done with his sister?" Sousuke burst into uproarious laughter as he watched Sei turn a similar shade to Ai, before he heard the door slam shut.

After the initial shock, Sousuke took in a big gulp of air as he watched Kou prowl towards the group, looking anything but pleased at her makeshift family's antics. Sousuke quickly stood to attention, drawing Kou's gaze to his latest achievement in an attempt to save the others from a good scolding. Poor Ai look absolutely terrified and Sou felt like he'd be a poor big brother if he didn't even _try_ to save his little bro's behind. 

Try being the key word here. 

"Well done Sou, but your efforts in building us a spaceship that will carry us to a new planet will have been for naught if we get careless now." Kou said, narrowing her eyes and placing her hands on her hips. As was a suitable stance for a woman in command. "Don't forget guys, what we're doing is  _highly_  illegal. I've seen other gems get a hanging sentence for less than this. The Diamond Authority does not take treason lightly so until we're a hundred miles away from this janked up planet, I want security and safety precautions to be performed to  _perfection_. And that means keeping this damn door closed."

Kou glared at everyone as she sharply pointed to the garage's only entrance to emphasise her point.

"Do I make myself clear?"   
  
"Yes M'am!" everyone said with great enthusiasm, particularly Sousuke. Ai wasn't the only one in the group Sousuke had held great brotherly affection for and he desperately wished Rin could see his sister Kou command the group with such confidence. 

 _'You'd be so proud of her, Rin.'_ he frowned as he looked at the teal and red bracelet attached to his wrist. He fondly petted the shark charm hanging from its thread.  _'So proud.'_  
  
"Good!" Kou said. "So now that the ship is finally ready, we can start making preparations for lift off. I want all the supplies on this list to be prepared before we leave. While you're all making sure we don't run out of provisions, I will prepare a distraction for the Diamond Authority."   
  
"Kou, just what exactly do you have planned?" Seijuro asked. "It's going to have to be something big for even the Diamond Authority to miss the Lady Samezuka, maybe I should-"  
  
"I will be fine." Kou said and turned her back to the group. "I have the perfect plan.  _Nothing_  will go wrong. Just help the others and I'll take care of the rest. Goodnight!"

Sousuke frowned as he watched Kou leave the room without so much as a goodbye kiss for Seijuro or a friendly wink to the rest of them. He could feel the tension as Sei stood there fidgeting and gasping to say something to his girlfriend or follow her, until thankfully his younger brother Momo took his hand and dragged him away to gather supplies, the sort only warrior gems could get access to.

When Ai caught a kiss Momo blew to him as he left, he smiled up at Sousuke and offered to help him clean and shut up shop. 

"Kou-san is so different." Ai said as he helped Sousuke carry the 'gem polish' to their home. "A good kind of different."

"Yeah." Sousuke agreed, forcing a small grin on his lips for Ai's benefit. "That administration job has done wonders for her."

But deep down inside Sousuke knew how dangerous being that close to the Diamond Authority was for a girl ready to betray Homeworld. Sousuke's brow tensed as he thought about what the Diamond Authority would do to Kou if she were to be caught messing with the planet's control systems to prepare an escape route just for her, a servant gem and three warrior gems. Sousuke, Momo and Seijuro were already on thin ice but Kou knew too much about the Homeworld's inner circle for those in charge to forgive her transgressions. After all, Sousuke knew what Homeworld had done to Rin.

 _'Kou's not letting us know anything because if we get caught, she wants to take all the blame.'_ Sousuke's hands gripped at the 'gem polish' box out of sheer frustration. _'I know she's the only one who can do this job, but still-'_  
  
"Sousuke?" Sousuke paused, tensing at the mention of his name. "Are you okay?"  
  
"Yeah, just fine buddy." Ai blinked up at Sousuke.

"You're lying." he said.

"Ai I'm fine, really." Sousuke said as he tried not to squeeze the box so hard it would crumble into pieces. He refused to get caught now just because he couldn't control his temper.   
  
"You know what happens when you lie or keep secrets from us Sousuke." Ai glanced at the turquoise gem on Sousuke's shoulder, looking ready to fall apart with the number of cracks that had damaged the surface. Sousuke called it the price of being a soldier and claimed he wasn't naive enough to believe he wouldn't go to war without getting a few scars. "If you don't want to talk about it, it's okay. I won't force you to because I've also kept secrets. But please don't strain yourself again. I don't know what would happen to me if you broke."  
  
Sousuke set the box down and took his friends hand.  
  
"If the stress gets bad, I promise I'll tell someone." Sousuke said. "You don't ever have to worry about me getting that bad ever again, okay? I made a promise and I'm going to keep it." The most precious smile was about to form on Ai's face, before they heard another voice.  
  
"He's right you know. Stress-management is very important for battle veterans." Sousuke quickly let go of Ai's hand and tried to keep his facial expression neutral. The attempt at nonchalance clearly wasn't working because Ai's expression turned from a happy to horrified one. Sousuke could keep secrets for as long as needed, but when confronted about those secrets his whole demeanour cracked worse than his gem. Ai hid behind Sousuke, sensing his fear while his friend stood like a deer in headlights. "Oh I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been eavesdropping!"  
  
Sousuke gave the other gem a once-over, trying to determine how janked he and Ai actually were. The enemy gem was almost as tall as he was, had sandy brown hair and bright green eyes that shone a little too brightly for Sousuke's liking. A green emerald gem was placed over his heart.

Sousuke vaguely recognised the other gem, but couldn't quite place his face to a name or memory. Had they been in the same fleet together? Sousuke thought that for a gem to be able to move that quietly, he either had to be a warrior or a servant class gem. Sousuke thought the other he looked too soft to be a warrior, but too imposing in bearing to be a servant like Ai.     
  
"Not at all." Sousuke said out of fake politeness rather than anything else. "Gotta take good advice where you can get it, especially in my state."  
  
"Well, if you'd like you could come for a free consultation. I specialise in filling cracks and stress management." Sousuke could feel Ai burry his head in his back and vibrate in a poor attempt to contain himself. Sousuke tried not to roll his eyes at the younger gem's crass sense of humour. Clearly Ai had been spending too much time with Momo and Seijuro. "If you ring my secretary, she can have you booked in for an appointment as early as this Friday."

"Thanks." Sousuke took the doc's card. Makoto Tachibana, huh? He'd have to remember that name. Even if he'd be on a planet miles away, information was always priceless. "I'll have my servant here call you. Gotta make him useful for something." Sousuke gently squeezed Nitori's hand behind his back to let him know he meant none of that, the action a stark contrast to his bored facial expression. "His kind ain't built to be good for much else."   
  
"I wouldn't say that." Makoto said, kneeling down to an increasingly nervous Nitori's height. "Ai was it? He seemed to be excellent at calming you down earlier." Sousuke resisted the urge to nervously cough or swear, even though a warrior or medical class gem complimenting a gem of Ai's class was pretty damn rare. He still remembered the shock he felt when Rin treated Ai like he could be anything. "I always thought servant gems made excellent companions."  
  
"Yeah, if you're a civil rights tree hugger." Sousuke grabbed the box he'd put down and pulled Ai by his wrist. It'd hurt, but he'd patch him up as soon as he got him home. Right now, getting Ai as far from the doctor as possible was his top priority even if it made his shoulder hurt like hell. This box of 'gem polish' was heavy. "If you'll excuse me, I have to get up early tomorrow and I'm sure a bad night's rest would be against your medical advice. As I said, I'll have the twerp ring you in the morning."  
  
"Take care!" Makoto waved after the pair. "Goodnight Ai!" Sousuke walked faster.  
  
That creepy doctor was far too friendly for his liking, especially since he knew what their kind liked to do to with gems like Ai.   
  
"Sousuke? Are you okay?" the moonstone gem asked as Sousuke bandaged up his wrist in white cloth. Sousuke grimaced at the red blotchy skin Momo would surely punish him for later. The turquoise gem was glad the sunstone gem would always have Ai's back, regardless of the ridiculous class systems that ruled their home planet.   
  
"I'll be okay when we get off this janked up planet." Sousuke said with more aggression than intended. In apology, he gently dabbed some actual gem polish on Ai's wrist and poured him a cup of his favourite tea. It was the least he could do while they were forced to wait out the next two days.   
  
Afterwards, Sousuke put the box of forbidden tools under his bed and tried his best to relax.  
  
_'Only two more days Rin.'_ Sousuke kissed the bracelet that more times often than not calmed him down.  _'Only two more days.'_


	2. Captain Kou Matsuoka

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time to blast off, but a doctor and a spy are determined to foil the crew's plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't judge a book by its cover.

Sousuke loved Momo but he wished from the bottom of his heart that he could have gone with Kou instead of Seijuro.  
  
Momo couldn't keep quiet for even Yellow Diamond, which was why he had been dismissed in the first place, but at least Sousuke would have been able to check the supplies without getting the evils thrown at him while he was working.

"Momo, I said I was sorry." Sousuke said as he closed the door to the medical supplies. "You know I'd rather hurt myself than Nitori, but I couldn't act like I cared about the feelings of a moonstone gem in front of this guy!"  
  
Sousuke sighed when Momo just narrowed his eyes at him and made a low growling sound. He went back to storing the boxes by himself, ignoring the mumbles of: "If it were me, I'd have roundhouse kicked that guy in the face" or "this is why Ai-senpai should have stayed with me."  
  
"Momo, why aren't you helping Sousuke?" Speak of the devil stone, or angel stone since Nitori was being a life saviour at the moment. "We don't have time to dilly dally! Kou and Seijuro could be back any minute and we must be ready."  
  
"I refuse to work with a gem who'd hurt my poor Ai!" Momo declared loudly and grabbed the moonstone's bandaged wrist to gently kiss it.  
  
"Oh you silly sunstone!" Nitori giggled. "I'm not going to pretend it didn't hurt or that Sousuke couldn't have been a bit gentler, but he _saved_ me Momo. That emerald gem might have seemed nice on the outside, but we don't know if his true colours would have shown if Sousuke started treating me like a gem in front of him. I'd rather have a sore wrist than face whatever punishment the Diamond Authority would have for me and Sousuke."  
  
Momo huffed while his brow furrowed in thought.  
  
"Well... I guess you're right." Momo mumbled before he turned to glare at Sousuke. "But when we leave this planet, ya gotta be gentler with gems! Especially Nitori!"  
  
"Oh stop acting like I'm made of glass!"

"I can't help it, you're my precious moonstone!"  
  
"Yeah, the precious moonstone who has been wiping the floor with you in the spar areana!"  
  
"I was distracted by your beautiful face!"  
  
"Excuses, excuses!"

Sousuke laughed at that one and went back to packing away the supplies in peace, until Momo and Ai stopped their lovers' quarrel. The moonstone gem bit his lip. 

"They sure are taking their time." he was talking about Kou and Seijuro.  
  
"Well, if I were Yellow Diamond I'd have trouble falling asleep too. Having Makoto Tachibana as your doctor wouldn't exactly equal a restful night's sleep." Sousuke snickered as he put another box of 'gem polish' away.  
  
"He wasn't that creepy!" Nitori said. "I think he was somewhat... sincere."  
  
"So you think Sousuke overreacted?" Momo asked.  
  
"Not at all! I mean I didn't get the same vibe from him that I do from most gems. I don't know if he'd turn us over to Yellow Diamond, but he actually did seem like a nice gem."  
  
"Nitori." Sousuke said. "You know I of all gems trust your judgement more than anyone else's, but that's also what you used to say about the guy who bought you."

 

"That was before I knew what he was doing was wrong!" Nitori squeaked. "Look, I can tell the difference between what someone is like on the inside and what someone is like on the outside. You look gruff and scary on the outside but you're actually very sweet and caring on the inside!"  
  
Everyone paused for a moment.  
  
"AH I'M SORRY THAT CAME OUT WRONG!" Sousuke groaned as he hid his blushing face inside a box of 'gem polish' while Momo laughed his sunstone off at the turquoise gem's expense. "I MEANT TO SAY THAT YOU CAN'T JUDGE PEOPLE BY HOW THEY APPEAR, I'M SO SORRY SOUSUKE!"  
  
"No! No! It's okay!" Sousuke refused to take his head out of the box. "I know what you meant Ai."    
  
Sousuke _knew_  that he was huge. It was like stating gems were rocks and size was something that gave you a lot of status and power in Homeworld, so it's not like he was offended. In fact, over the years Sousuke had gotten pretty tired of being seen only as a war machine.  
  
So being described as 'sweet' and 'caring' by Ai?  
  
It felt  _really_  nice.  
  
"Thanks Nitori."  
  
"Are-are you sure? Because if I said something wrong-"  
  
"No Nitori." Sousuke took his head out of the box and smiled at the moonstone gem. "You said just the right thing."  
  
Ai gave a big sigh of relief while Momo sat there fuming.  
  
"Hey! No putting the moves on my boyfriend Mr. Sweet and Caring!" Sousuke rolled his eyes at Momo. "You can't just smile like that and expect people not to fall in love with you!"  
  
"Oh hush Momo and pass me the wrench, I'm going to check on the engines again before Kou and Seijuro come back. All this waiting is making me nervous!"  
  
Speak of the devil stone, Kou slammed the door open with Seijuro in tow.  
  
"No need Nitori!" Kou announced in a booming voice. "We are getting out of this hell hole! Yellow Diamond is asleep and the rest of the Homeworld gems are running around like headless clusters trying to fix the mess I've made! We're good to go!"  
  
With a loud whoop, Sousuke and Momo high fived each other while Nitori yelped "Kou, you're a genius!" and had his hair ruffled by a happy Seijuro.  
  
Everyone on the Lady Samezuka was in high spirits, before they head the door close with an eerie creak.  
  
Kou cursed herself for ignoring her own command and forgetting to close the door.  
  
"Not so fast." Everyone froze in horror as the owner of the strange voice appeared from the shadows with a gem destabiliser in hand. Sousuke grit his teeth in frustration and resisted to urge to crack his own gem in frustration at the sight of this new enemy. "No one is going anywhere. You're all coming with me."  
  
It sickened Sousuke to see Kou walk towards the gem he recognised, the gem he could have eliminated yesterday if only he hadn't grown so damn soft!  
  
"Or what?" Kou asked as she defiantly stepped forward to look Makoto Tachibana in the eye, her voice never wavering in the face of the smarmy glint in those green irises. Seijuro quickly grabbed her arm before she could get any closer to Makoto.  
  
"Kou don't, he's got a weapon!"  
  
"And it does more than the name entails." Makoto aimed the weapon and aimed fire at the stool innocently sitting and minding its own business before it burst into flames and became nothing but a pile of ash. Momo gulped at the sight while Nitori held his hand in a vice grip. "So I would advise you all to come quietly. Yellow Diamond is a gracious and wise ruler, so I am sure if you behave nicely she'll let you off with a warning."  
  
Sousuke stopped himself from snickering. Makoto sounded so robotic when he repeated that speech he'd heard a hundred times over, there was no way that hadn't been rehearsed.  
  
Kou forcefully removed her boyfriend's hand and edged closer to the other gem.  
  
"I'm sure that's what she said to my brother." Kou spoke slowly, the apatite gem on her throat glittering with resolve. "Before his ship was blown from the sky."  
  
Makoto lowered his weapon and looked at Kou like he had seen a ghost. All suggestion of arrogance and confidence melted away.  
  
"The... The one headed for planet Earth?"  
  
"Yes." Kou said. "The ship Pink Diamond led. Sound familiar?"  
  
Everyone in the room looked at Makoto as he slowly put the bits and pieces together in his head.  
  
Pink Diamond was a part of the Diamond Authority that led Homeworld, until he went missing in action. Yellow Diamond spread the story that the poor ruler had disappeared when his ship crashed into a comet, but those in the know doubted that a captain that experienced would ever run into trouble in that part of the galaxy. Pink Diamond, otherwise known as 'Kisumi' was an open-minded gem with a very open heart. Many believe that was got him and many of his comrades killed.  
  
There was no room for gems like him or Rin on Homeworld and that was why Sousuke was so ready to leave Yellow Diamond behind, the consequences be damned.  
  
Makoto's shocked expression turned into a hysterical grimace and laughter dripped from his throat.  
  
"What you are implying is treason!" Makoto said. "There's no way Yellow Diamond would kill one of her own, let alone the dozens of gems who were on that ship. She even promised me that after this, she would help me find Ren, Ran and Haru!"  
  
Oh.  
  
Something switched in Sousuke's head.  
  
He suddenly remembered where he had seen Makoto before.  
  
Sousuke memory was a little fuzzy because his mind was a cloud of grief, anger and sorrow at the time but the image of an expressionless, blank-faced Makoto appeared in his mind's eye. He was standing among the other grief-stricken gems that had come to remember their loved ones at the memorial ceremony. At the time Sousuke thought it didn't make sense to hold a memorial for gems that weren't dead, but in retrospect it made Yellow Diamond's intentions clear. Her message was "defy her and you shall be digging your own grave."  
  
"Yellow Diamond makes a lot of promises." Kou said, the anger in her voice disrupting Sousuke's trip down memory lane. "She promised my brother protection and a promotion. Now he's probably laying in a ditch somewhere with his gem shattered!"  
  
"Stop it!" Makoto said, covering his ears. "She promised! She promised she'd help! She said that if I helped her, she'd let Haru and my siblings come back! She said all their sins would be forgiven!"  
  
"Yellow Diamond has never forgiven anyone!" Kou shouted.  
  
"No! No, she said she'd make an allowance this time! She said so! She has to! Because if I don't help her, Haru, Ren and Ran won't ever be able to come back! And they have to come back because if they don't-" Makoto's breathing started to become ragged and tears started falling down his face.  
  
Sousuke got another flashback of him peaking through the nurse's tent at the memorial service while he was asking the nurse for his pain medication.  
  
_"Is he gonna be all right?" Sousuke asked, looking at Makoto staring at the ceiling from his crib. The nurse looked like she was hesitant to answer Sousuke’s question but she did.  
  
"He'll get over it. Eventually. Unfortunately, this isn't the first time he's lost a loved one." the nurse said before she leaned in close and whispered. "His parents were traitors, you see. They were great doctors but they conspired the Pink Diamond who came before Kisumi. So their gems were shattered."  
  
"Clusters!" Sousuke swore, the horrific image flashing before his eyes. No wonder Makoto was in the state he was in!   
  
"Exactly." the nurse said. "He's gonna have to watch his back and mind his manners, or Yellow Diamond’s going to come for him next."_  
  
Sousuke wanted to club himself on the head for walking away from that tent after he got his meds _. Of course_ Yellow Diamond would use someone like Makoto as a pawn. He'd have been too scared to say no.  
  
"I can't watch them get their gems smashed! Not again!" Makoto cried after he ignored the possibility that his siblings and Haru might be gone forever. "So you're coming with me!"  
  
Sousuke stepped forward, put a reassuring hand on Kou's shoulder to say "he's got this" and stood in front of her to act as a shield. He didn't want anyone else to get hurt while he said what he had to say.  
  
"Makoto, I'm really sorry. I can't imagine what it's like to lose your whole family. It must have been so painful and soul crushing." Sousuke said, knowing exactly where Makoto was coming from. "But if your family is alive, Yellow Diamond is not going to let them come back to Homeworld without serious consequences. She may have promised you certain things to get you to help her, but Yellow Diamond only keeps her promises if it benefits _her_. There's no guarantee that if you take us in, that she'll spare your family's life because they're traitors."  
  
"But you don't know that!" Makoto said, as if he was making a plea for his family's life right then and there.  
  
"I know, Makoto." Sousuke grabbed his shirt and pointed to his exposed shoulder. "See these cracks? I got these from my commanding officer because I begged and pleaded with him to not fire the rocket he pointed at Kisumi's ship. I used every moral and ethical argument in the book. I even mentioned that there were young gems on board! But I may as well have been talking to a brick wall."  
  
Sousuke frowned as Makoto had completely lowered his gem destabiliser.  
  
"There's no room for mercy in Homeworld." the turquoise gem knew that this was a harsh thing to say, but sometimes the truth needed to be said, even if it hurt.    
  
"Then what am I supposed to do?" Makoto didn't even bother to try and stop crying at this point because he couldn't lie to himself anymore. "I'm sorry, I'm... I know this is wrong but... But I don't want my gem to be smashed! Because if Haru, Ren or Ran are alive then they need me and... And… I'm scared! I don't want to die! I don’t want to die like mum and dad did!"  
  
While everyone silently watched Makoto sob and shake with the sheer stress of realising the truth, Sousuke bridged the gap between him and the other gem and did something he should have done when he saw him standing there alone at the funeral all those years ago.  
  
Sousuke gently cupped the back of Makoto's head and pulled him in for a hug. The taller gem was surprised by how quickly Makoto reciprocated the physical gesture by burying his face in his shoulder and wrapping his arms around him, but he didn't mind. Sousuke had stood strong for other gems while they cried in his arms before and it was a privilege he took pride in.  
  
"There, there." Sousuke shushed Makoto as he kept sobbing. "It's okay. We're not going to let her hurt you anymore. And if your family is still alive, I promise that we will find them."  
  
"Not so fast!" yet  _another_  strange voice entered the room. Kou could be heard screaming 'WILL SOMEONE CLOSE THAT DAMN DOOR!' "You're all going nowhere!"   
  
"NAGISA?!" Sousuke felt cold when Makoto broke away from the hug. "What are you doing here?"   
  
"I Makoto, have got a big pile of money waiting for me when I put you all in jail thanks to Yellow Diamond!" the gem smirked as he brandished his gem destabiliser with a flare.   
  
"B-but you're my secretary! Well, one of my secretaries. Why would Hana hire you if you aren't a secretary?" Sousuke and Kou gave Makoto an incredulous look. Yellow Diamond had really hired this cinnamon roll to take them down? Really? They should be insulted!   
  
"I am not a secretary my dear Doctor Tachibana!" Nagisa said. "I AM A SPY FOR YELLOW DIAMOND!" he bellowed a loud 'mwahaha' for added dramatic affect, before setting his gun to kill. "Who is about to get his first promotion!"   
  
Kou looked like she was ready to cause some grievous bodily harm to this new enemy, while the rest of Samezuka's crew were ready to kiss their dream goodbye.   
  
That was before Makoto turned the knob on his gem destabiliser and again aimed fire a second at Nagisa's gem.   
  
With a loud 'poof' Nagisa's physical form disappeared and his gem fell to the ground.   
  
"Oh my gem he murdered Nagisa!" Momo shrieked.   
  
"No, no it's okay, I only stunned him! He'll come back when he's ready to reform." Makoto said, showing the knob where he set the gun to destabilise. He sighed as he looked at Nagisa's pink tourmaline gem. "And he came so highly recommended."   
  
Souske's laughter boomed across the room and he clasped Makoto on the shoulder.   
  
"Welcome to the crew, Makoto." Sousuke smiled as he watched Makoto's worried face turn into a happy, smiling one. The loneliness and fear that haunted Makoto's expression had seemed to vanish in an instant.   
  
"Hold on! I am the captain of this ship and I am the one who decides who is a member of this crew!" Kou interrupted. Sousuke winced. He had forgot that it wasn't his place to invite Makoto. Darn. "How do we know that he is not a spy and that this was all staged?"  
  
"Because I can vouch for the credibility of his story." Sousuke said. Makoto turned to look at him in confusion and shock, but neither gem said anything. "Trust me Kou, he is who he says he is."   
  
Kou looked back and forth between Makoto and Sousuke, scrutinising both gems. After a few minutes of deep thought, she sighed and came to a decision.   
  
"Okay, he can come. But Makoto, I swear that if you are an enemy gem I will poof you the way you poofed Nagisa, then bubble and hide your gem in the farthest and most secluded location I can find! Do you understand? Once you become a member of Lady Samezuka, the decision is final! It's now or never Makoto!"   
  
Makoto meeped at the forcefulness of Kou's threat, but he nodded.   
  
"I... Is your brother really and truly gone?"   
  
Kou paused, taking a moment to examine Makoto again, her fiery red eyes never leaving him.   
  
"I don't know... I got a signal a couple of years back coming from Earth that may have come from my brother's ship. It was a miracle I spotted it before anyone else did." Kou said. "If he's alive, then I think that's where he will be."   
  
A storm of determination and hope blossomed behind Makoto's previously cold, dead green eyes. With that small bit of information it was as if Kou had brought Makoto back from the dead and Sousuke couldn't help but smirk at the drastic, but wonderful change in Makoto's aura.   
  
"Then I'll follow you there." Makoto said. "I'll follow you there no matter what, Captain Kou!"

"Good!" Kou smirked. "Don't just sit around gems! We've wasted enough time, we've got to hop to it and get out of here!"   
  
"Yeah!" Momo joined the hype. "And after that we've got a 'welcome to the crew' party to plan!"   
  
"Momo..." Kou growled.   
  
"Sorry Captain!"   
  
Sousuke chuckled and turned back to see how Makoto was handling all of this. The emerald gem looked a bit frightened and confused and who could blame him, a few moments ago he was ready to take on a risky and dangerous mission to protect his family. Now he was leaving home and everything he knew behind to be a part of a new crew, all in the hope that he might find his family.   
  
"I think you should take a look at our medical centre, Doctor Tachibana. It's going to be real handy for us to have a medic gem on the ship. It's down that corridor on the left." Sousuke said. With a great big smile, Makoto nodded and rushed to help as he became filled with new sense of purpose. Sousuke stood there for a couple of minutes, watching him go before he noticed that Nitori was grinning up at him. "What?"   
  
"Oh nothing. Nothing at all." Nitori smirked. "Just glad I was right that what's on the inside is different from the outside." Ai scurried off to check the engines while he left Sousuke there, to marinate on what the moonstone gem had told him. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're worth your salt as a soumako shipper, you know what Nitori is thinking. ;)


	3. Nagisa the Bubble Maker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nitori and Sousuke clash, while Nagisa becomes an unlikely hero!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been a while since I've updated! I wanted to get this chapter just right. It's gonna go out with a bang. :)

Nagisa the Spy had reformed from his dormant state and would not stop groaning in pain. Sousuke rolled his eyes and reminded himself that he would regret shattering the pink tourmaline gemling, not to mention cause Makoto anguish since he had already witnessed his parents be brutally smashed by the Diamond Authority. So Sousuke lay down on his bed and grit his teeth while Makoto tended to his injuries and Seijuro got chewed out by Kou.  
  
"Did you push me out of the way of that cannon because I am your girlfriend?" Kou was talking about the extra layer of security the Diamond Authority had put on the outer ring of Homeworld. Thankfully they had the right shields to protect them from an attack like that, but they hadn't been expecting that kind of fire power to hit their ship, so Sousuke, Seijuro and Kou had to go out onto the ship's deck to power the shields manually. Sousuke loved the Lady Samezuka, but she was an ancient rust bucket compared to the newer models. "I swear if the answer is yes I will strip you of your rank!"  
  
Seijuro burst into laughter. Makoto snuck a glance at Sousuke to ascertain whether the onyx gem had lost his mind, but Sousuke couldn't give him an answer because he was getting one powerful headache.   
  
"I've sacrificed myself for superiors for less!" Seijuro said, before cupping Kou's hands into his own. "I was happy that I could finally put my life on the line for a captain worth thousands of those losers!"  
  
Sousuke smirked, catching onto the meaning behind Seijuro's words. Kou seemed to as well, since she laced her fingers into Seijuro's and smiled at him like he was the sun and the stars.  
  
"You clod." she sighed but she couldn't look away from Seijuro, not even when Nagisa was crying "Oh the pain! The pain!"  
  
"Oh hush, you're fine!" Nitori said as he passed Nagisa, who was currently chained to the wall. The moonstone gem placed more medical supplies by Makoto's side before he turned to glare at Nagisa. "Sousuke and Seijuro are the ones who should be moaning and groaning in pain. Look at them! We would have gotten away before the timer on the cannons was set off if you hadn't stalled us!"  
  
At these words Makoto stopped bandaging Sousuke's wounds and bowed his head, looking dreadfully ashamed of himself.  
  
"Wow! A cheeky moonstone!" Nagisa cried, temporarily drawing Sousuke's attention away from Makoto. "Something must have gone wrong when they were making you in the factory because I don't believe a moonstone gem has ever talked back to me before!" he said that like he had just discovered a talking cluster. The gem's enthusiasm frightened Sousuke and he was really glad they tied him up, lest he wanted to 'examine' Nitori.  
  
"How dare you!" Momo cried from where he was driving the ship. "Ai is fine the way he is, you're just mad because you can't bully him! You don't think other moonstones on Homeworld would tell you to shut up if they could?"  
  
"Enough!" Kou's voice boomed through the Lady Samezuka. "Sousuke and Seijuro are tired and need rest. If you aren't tending to the wounded, be quiet or go attend to something else!"  
  
"I could help if you untied me!" Nagisa offered. In response, Kou pulled the gem destabilister from her pocket.  
  
"I don't know how you reformed so quickly, but I'll poof you again and figure out how to keep you in that state if you don't sit still and be quiet." she said as she waved the weapon around menacingly with a cold look in her eye that could freeze twelve suns.   
  
Nagisa whimpered something that sounded like 'so mean.' But he zipped his lip and didn't dare say another word in front of Lady Samezuka's captain.

After silencing the spy, Kou kissed Seijuro on the forehead and went to assist Momo. It was going to be a long flight and the sunstone gem wouldn't be able to pilot the ship alone.  
  
Seeing that his duties had been fulfilled, Seijuro copied a trick he learned from an organic life form on one of the planets Homeworld colonised and 'went to sleep.' Sousuke cringed as he watched the onyx gem fall into a restful slumber as he did not like seeing his friend in a vulnerable state, but he bit his lip and tried to remind himself that 'sleeping' helped Seijuro heal faster.  
  
"You know, I tried to recommend the benefits of sleep to Yellow Diamond once." Makoto said. "But then she kicked me up the butt for suggesting something that was an 'enormous waste of time', hehe... Her words, not mine."  
  
"How rude! I think it's a marvelous idea Makoto! Why Seijuro looks better already!" Sousuke laughed when Ai pointed out Seijuro's sleepy smiling face. Colour seemed to be returning to his cheeks and the scratch wounds didn't look as bad as they had when Sousuke and Kou dragged him onto the ship. "Yellow Diamond really needs to get her priorities in order..."  
  
Makoto smiled.  
  
"You're really brave, Nitori." Makoto said. "I wish I was as brave as you."  
  
Sousuke frowned when he saw the shame creep back into Makoto's face and wanted to hold the other gem's hand, even though he felt the behaviour might have been a little forward. Even though Sousuke had only met the gem a couple of hours ago he really couldn't help it, he felt responsible for the other gem and wanted to give him the comfort and happiness he deserved. Maybe because he could empathise with what he had gone through...   
  
"Oh, I'm not brave." Nitori said. "I wouldn't dare say a word to Yellow Diamond's face. In fact, back on Homeworld I didn't say anything to the other gems because well... you know. I didn't start respecting myself as a gem until Rin-senpai told me I could be anything I wanted to be. It was because of Rin-senpai that I... started to like myself..." the breathy way Nitori said 'Rin-senpai' and looked off into the distance spoke of deep nostalgia and longing.  
  
Makoto seemed to pick up on this.  
  
"Who was Rin to you, Nitori?"  
  
"Rin... Rin made me feel like I was everything." Nitori smiled.   
  
Sousuke bit his lip when he watched the tips of Makoto's ears turn red at the implications behind Nitori's words. When the emerald gem finally processed what was being communicated to him, he cried 'oh' and nearly dropped one of his medical tools. Sousuke caught it and presented it to the flustered gem with a flourish while he mumbled 'thank you Sousuke.'  
  
"Um, well, uh, I see!" Makoto said when he finally calmed down. "Well... if he gave you the confidence to love who you are then I am very happy for you Nitori. Is he the one you hope to find on Earth?"  
  
Sousuke would have grinned up at Makoto like he was the cutest thing in the galaxy if Ai wasn't hesitantly looking at him. Sousuke closed his eyes and crossed his arms, communicating that he wasn't gonna get into another fight with Ai about this particular issue. They had spent enough time fighting about whether Rin was dead or alive.  
  
"If I see Rin again, I'll be very happy. But if I don't then that's okay. I moved on along time ago." Ai said as he glanced at Momo, who was still piloting the ship with Kou. Ai smiled softly and his eyes shone like a galaxy while he looked at the redhead smiling and laughing with their captain. "Rin told me we should always keep moving forward towards the future or we'll lose sight of the things that are right in front of us. I didn't understand what that meant until I lost him, but when I started feeling things for Momo I knew exactly what he meant."  
  
"Momo... You... Momo... Are... As well?" Makoto stuttered.  
  
"He's very gay Makoto, I think we have already established that." Sousuke said.  
  
"No, no! It's just..." Makoto hesitated. "You're so brave. I could never come out and say it like that, I mean-"  
  
"Do you have someone special Makoto?" Sousuke laughed when Ai asked that question because Makoto's face yet again lit up like a red hot star. Thankfully Makoto didn't have any tools to drop, so when he brushed his hands through his hair and smacked himself on the cheeks he got it together.  
  
"Well..." Makoto bit his lip, debating on whether he should tell his new friends the truth about himself. He took a deep breath and went for the plunge, deciding that no one on Homeworld would ever find out about this and he had been keeping it a secret for long enough. And in spite of Nagisa's behaviour, he had been a good assistant so Makoto trusted him to keep this a secret. "There was someone that I thought I'd have really liked to be with if things on Homeworld were different. Haru was never adopted into my family but we were really close."  
  
"Oh so your relationship with Haru is completely different to your relationship with Ren and Ran, eh?"  
  
"Ai, don't tease Makoto." Sousuke smirked, enjoying Makoto's face change colour again. "It's as plain as day."  
  
"AS PLAIN AS THE RED IN HIS CHEEKS!" Nagisa shouted in the background. "SNAP!"  
  
"My butt is still sore from the cannon shot earlier, but I'll come and get you if you don't shut up." with a meep Nagisa stayed quiet again, while Sousuke twiddled his thumbs with glee. Makoto tutted Sousuke for scaring Nagisa but eventually got back to work on his gem, filling the cracks and polishing it so it had a nice shine to it. Sousuke sighed and enjoyed the pampering. Nothing could relax him like a good gem polish. "Well, if we find Haru you can tell him exactly how you feel."  
  
"Honestly, I will just be happy if I get to see him again." Makoto said.   
  
"That's a very sensible attitude, Makoto." Sousuke glared at Ai before huffing and turning onto his side. Honestly, Sousuke was happy for Ai and his ability to move on from Rin. He truly was. He just didn't like being told how to feel or what to do. "If you two meet up again, I'm sure you'll be able to discuss your relationship once you've reunited and take it from there. That is, if another gem doesn't steal your heart before then!"  
  
Sousuke's neck snapped to gape at Nitori and glare at him from the bed, barely noticing a blushing Makoto's stuttering and lack of eye contact. What was the moonstone gem doing? Did he not know Sousuke's heart was already taken? They had discussed this a million times and his feelings weren't going to change, so for Nitori to pull this kind of crap-  
  
Sousuke's train of thought was cut off by a loud crash and his world suddenly being turned upside down.  
  
"WE'VE BEEN HIT!" Momo screamed over the flashing red lights and emergency sirens. "A COMET STRUCK THE WING OF THE SHIP!" Seijuro woke up with a loud snore and followed Ai to burst into action, all of them prepared for an emergency situation like this. Sousuke winced and looked for Makoto, who was clinging to the hospital bed for dear life. He looked to check how the rest of the crew and Nagisa were doing, before deciding that his first priority was to protect and comfort the non-combatant aboard the Lady Samezuka. Ignoring the pain in his shoulder, he dived towards Makoto before nearly having the wind struck out of him by another crash.  
  
"IT'S A SERIES OF METEORITES!" Momo updated everyone on the situation. Sousuke mumbled 'perfect' while Makoto cried an 'are you okay' before taking the other gem in his arms.   
  
"You're still hurt, Sousuke."  
  
"Never mind me, I've got to get you and the prisoner to safety." Sousuke said as sternly as possible as he set himself to sit upright, even though his shoulder was hurting like hell now and the only thing comforting him right now was being Makoto's big strong arms.  
  
"Bubbles! I can bubble us!" Nagisa shouted. "If you unchain me I can bubble everybody so nobody dies from the crash!"  
  
"Nice try!" Sousuke scoffed. "But we're not going to crash."   
  
The roof of the Lady Samezuka made a sickening thud as another meteorite hit the ship. Sousuke's heart sank as he watched Momo scream and the small crew scrambled to think of a strategy to save the ship he put his heart and soul into building. He just barely noticed Makoto yelping and burying his head into his shoulder out of fear.   
  
"Pleaaaaaaaaaase Sousuke!" Nagisa cried, eyes lighting up with determination. "My bubbles are impenetrable, I used them to protect gems while they were reforming all the time and none of them ever got hurt! Ask Makoto, he knows!"   
  
"Makoto believed you weren't a spy until now, how does he know the real you?" Sousuke said, his teal eyes boring into pink ones.   
  
"He doesn't but he sees the best in everybody, even you! That's why he trusted you not to hurt him when he switched sides. Right, Makoto? Makoto, you believe that I can save everyone, don't you?" Nagisa gave Makoto a look that begged the emerald gem to trust the pink tourmaline in spite of what he had done. "I am sorry about what I did, I didn't want to hurt you but I really needed the money! It was for something important, I swear!"  
  
Makoto pulled his head away from Sousuke's shoulder and took deep, calming breathes. Sousuke could feel the tension in Makoto's fingers as he gripped the fabric of his clothes.   
  
"I trust him." Makoto said. "I trust Nagisa to help us."   
  
"Makoto! I am not risking my family's safety for the small chance this spy might be able to save us! And what if it's all a trick? I would rather die than be turned over to Yellow Diamond!" Sousuke growled, his eyes looking deep into Makoto's soul and his battering against his chest. The idea of letting this filthy spy take charge, the idea-  
  
Sousuke's scowl softened as he felt two hands cup his cheeks.   
  
"I know it's hard to trust other gems, especially if they've hurt you. When Haru and my siblings disappeared, I didn't think I'd ever be able to trust anyone ever again because the people I cared about most had been taken from me in the most viciously cruel way possible. But then one sweet, turquoise gem took a chance on me and made me feel like there was hope again by accepting me into his family and trusting me to _not_ betray that family."   
  
Sousuke felt himself melt under the stare of those beautiful green eyes that were looking into his soul.   
  
"Please set him free, Sousuke. In spite of everything, I trust Nagisa to do as he says."   
  
Sousuke huffed before a smirk formed on his lips and shook his head. He was far too easily swayed by this emerald gem.

Nitori was right, he was a big softie.  

  
"If you betray us, your gem is mine Nagisa." with a wave of his right arm Sousuke willed his battle axe to appear and with one powerful strike, he released Nagisa from his chains.   
  
"Finally!" the pink tourmaline gem squealed before summoning his weapon from his chest and produced a bubble gun. "Fasten your seat belts everybody!"  
  
Bubbles, huge pink bubbles appeared everywhere and encased the crew and the ship in a big, protective cocoon of... water? Sousuke shook his head and just clung to Makoto tightly, hoping whatever the bubbles were made of would be enough to protect them from the impact should they crash land. With the way Kou was gritting her teeth and how tightly she held onto the helm behind her giant pink bubble, it looked like that was where they were headed for whatever planet would accept their tiny ship.  
  
"Forgive me, my lady." Sousuke said to the Lady Samezuka before tucking Makoto's head into his chest and holding him tight.  
  
Should he die, he wanted to go out protecting at least one gem.


	4. RIP Lady Samezuka

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sousuke fears for Makoto's life and a happy reunion occurs!

Sousuke groaned in pain as he lifted his head high and surveyed the damage done to the Lady Samezuka in the crash. Grey smoke clouds made it hard for Sousuke to see but he could tell that she hadn't survived the fall as bits of her body were scattered everywhere, ugly and misshapen shards of metal that filled Sousuke's heart with sorrow as he had spent _months_ lovingly building the ship with his own two hands. But even with all Sousuke's hard work and sacrifice, the Lady Samezuka hadn't even survived her first flight and was unable to protect her precious cargo. She'd never get another chance to either, as Sousuke didn't even know if he could rebuild the ship on this strange, mysterious planet. He punched the ground, angry at how _unfair_ it all was.   
  
"Makoto!" he gasped, suddenly remembering how he had held the other gem in his arms as his precious ship crashed. Big droplets of sweat fell from his brow as he set to look for the other gem.  "Makoto!"

His heart pounded against his chest as he ran, trying to not to think about the worst outcomes of this crash but with every step he took he felt like he was getting sicker and sicker.   
  
_'Please don't let me find him bloody and broken, please let him be alive.'_ It was one thing for Sousuke to have lost Rin and have no idea whether his first love was still out there and thinking of him, but Sousuke knew it would destroy him if he saw Makto lying there on the ground with no way for him to help him. The very thought made Sousuke's stomach want to explode because the idea of failing Makoto _twice_ was just unbearable.   
  
A tiny tear escaped SOusuke's eye socket at the prospect of a future without Makoto.   
  
_'Please be okay. I've only known you since yesterday, but I wanna be your friend until my gem shatters.'_ It was crazy, but it was true. He didn't want this relationship to die before it had just began.    
  
So Sousuke cried for him once more "Makoto!" 

Sousuke waited and waited but he dared not call Makoto's name again because he didn't want his worst fears to be confirmed. 

But good, reliable Makoto responded and put those fears to bed. 

"I'm right here!" Sousuke's heart stopped when he heard the cry coming from the rubble near the spot where he had landed. He saw a hand waving around in the air and gave a much needed sigh of relief, before he ran to Makoto as of his life depended on it and pulled the hand out of the rubble. Seeing that he was unharmed by the crash, Sousuke tackled the smaller gem. He didn't hesitate to hug the living daylights out of him, nuzzling his head and breathing in the scent of his hair to confirm that Makoto was _alive and unharmed_. "Hey, what-"  
  
"I'm so glad you're okay." Sousuke grinned, his smile capable of lighting up several planets.   
  
Makoto looked up at Sousuke, completely stunned by the unusual warmth in his personality. But after catching his bearings Makoto returned the smile and affectionately squeezed Sousuke's upper arms.  
  
"I'm glad you're okay too. It's thanks to you we're alive!" Sousuke balked at what Makoto said before he snorted, hardly believing what he was hearing.  
  
"Are you kidding me Makoto? If you hadn't convinced me to let Nagisa go we would be gem shards now." Sousuke clasped a hand on Makoto's shoulder and looked him dead in the eyes. "It's you who deserves my thanks."  
  
Makoto blushed at the sudden gesture and mumbled a "well" before gently placing his hand onto Sousuke's.   
  
It was then that the turquoise gem started panicking again.  
  
"My bracelet! It's gone!" Sousuke stared in horror at his bare naked wrist.   
  
"What?" Makto cried not understanding Sousuke's erratic change in behaviour.   
  
"The friendship bracelet that Rin gave me before he left! It's gone!" Sousuke's breath became laboured as he dived his hands into the nearest pile of rubble and started digging. "Oh Makoto, if I lost that then who knows how the others are? What if the bubble broke, what if-"  
  
Sousuke heard a soft 'shh' and felt a gentle hand upon his lips. He paused his search and looked up into Makoto's big green eyes. He felt as though he could get lost in them.   
  
"It's okay. You're okay. We will find the others and then we can all search for your bracelet together. 7 pairs of eyes are better than one, right?" Makoto winked.  
  
After taking a deep breath Sousuke processed what Makoto was saying and took the other gem's proffered hand. He looked into Makoto's eyes and gave the other gem's hand a squeeze, even though he was still scared silly. A tiny voice in his head thought that perhaps Makoto was wrong and that the others weren't okay and that he'd never find his precious bracelet, but for once Sousuke felt like being positive. It did save him and Makoto from dying in the crash, so he would have faith in the other gem.  
  
"Thank you Makoto."  
  
Before Makoto could say another word they heard a shrill cry of Sousuke's name. Sousuke didn't notice Makoto's disappointed face when he let go of his hand to catch a crying Nitori, who had flung himself into the bigger gem's arms. Makoto cringed, hoping he could get the snot stains out of Sousuke's clothes later. He also decided that Nitori's sobs sounded an awful lot like "I'm sorry" or "I thought you were dead" and "I found this" as he waved the red and blue friendship bracelet in the air.

Sousuke let out a loud roar of triumph and affectionately ruffled Nitori's hair.

"Becoming your best friend was the best decision of my life!" Sousuke told Nitori as he kissed the friendship bracelet, causing Makoto to pout and look away from the affectionate display before the others emerged from the crash sight. Momo looked happy to be alive, but Seijuro and Kou looked less than pleased with their torn clothes and smog stained faces. The female gem had Nagisa entangled in her weapon of choice, strings of cosmic ribbons, to prevent his escape.  
  
"Sousuke, Nagisa said you released him from capture so he could save us. Is this true?" Sousuke looked at the little tourmaline gem who was trembling in his bonds and Sousuke instantly pitied him. He sighed and decided to take the blame, as his honour wouldn't allow otherwise.  
  
"Yes Kou, it's true. He saved our lives."  
  
"I see." Nagisa grimaced as Kou approached him, tightly shutting his pink eyes as he prepared himself for the worst. He did not expect the ribbons to suddenly vanish with a wave of Kou's arm and made a 'huh?' sound, hardly believing what was happening.  
  
"Wha-What's going on? Are you going to execute me? If so, pleeeeeease make it as painless as possible. I am allergic to pain, Makoto said so!"  
  
Everyone couldn't help laugh at that, even Makoto who tried to hide his giggles by hiding behind Sousuke.  
  
"Rest assured Nagisa, you won't need a doctor's note. I'm letting you run free." Nagisa's jaw dropped, but before he could start celebrating Kou said: "HOWEVER, this does not mean you can run off on your own. I am grateful to you for saving us, but that does not mean I 100% trust you. There's no guarantee that you're innocent and aren't still trying to trick us into trusting you, so don't try my patience. I'm letting you roam about freely on a _trial basis_  so if you do _anything_ to make me suspicious, I'll make you my prisoner again. Do you understand?"  
  
"It's crystal clear captain!" Nagisa made an over the top salute, making his new captain roll her eyes at him and the lousy pun. "So what do we now? In fact, where are we now? Is this planet Earth?"  
  
Kou opened her mouth to say something, but then realised that they had no idea where the ship had landed. They were quite literally stranded on a foreign planet with no way to find out where they were or get help.  
  
Sousuke thought they were extremely fortunate to have Kou as their captain.  
  
"First, we leave the Lady Samezuka behind. I'm sorry Sousuke and Ai, but for now I think we should spend our time and energy finding shelter. After that we can gather intelligence and see if there is any-LIFE ON THIS PLANET!" Kou suddenly shouted, pointing at two gems approaching them. "GET READY FOR BATTLE, THIS IS NOT A DRILL!"  
  
From her apatite throat, Kou pulled out her cosmic ribbons while Sousuke pulled out his axe, Seijuro got his war hammer ready and Momo released his broad swords. Sousuke could hear Nagisa getting ready to point his bubble gun at their new enemy while Nitori got out his battle gauntlets. Sousuke glanced to see what weapon Makoto would draw from his gem, but Makoto was too busy looking absolutely stunned to do anything but stand there and gawp at their enemy.   
  
Makoto gasped and ran straight towards the intruders, making Sousuke's heart jump in his throat as the ominous feeling that he was going to lose Makoto reared its ugly head again.  
  
"Makoto, what are you-"  
  
"REN! RAN!" Sousuke dropped his axe in shock when he heard Makoto scream those names out in a tone of voice he hadn't heard from Makoto before, a tone of both desperation and complete, utter happiness.  
  
Ren. Ran.  
  
Weren't those the names of Makoto's brother and sister?  
  
"MAKOTO!" Sousuke could hear two small voices calling out to Makoto and saw tears streak down the emerald gem's face. "BIG BROTHER IT'S US!"  
  
Sousuke picked up his weapon in case they were just seeing things, in case this was some sort of cruel and twisted mirage plotting to capture them but instead of seeing trickery cruelly being thrust upon Makoto, Sousuke saw him pick up his siblings and kiss their small faces with the love and affection only an older brother could give to their tiny siblings after being separated for so darn long.  
  
The sight made Sousuke drop his axe again.  
  
"So do I shoot the little people with bubbles or nah?" Nagisa cried in pain when Kou slapped him upside the head and shouted "Don't ruin the reunion for them!"  
  
"Big brother, look at how sweet they are!" Momo cooed, watching the familial display. "Why do _you_ never give me kisses like that?"  
  
"Because you complain and say you're not a baby, watch!" Momo shrieked as Seijuro chased him around the rubble to pepper sweet kisses on his red cheeks. Momo shrieked "big brother, nooooo you're embarrassing me in front of Ai!" but Sei just laughed and Nitori stood there smirking to himself, not lifting a finger to help his sweet and precious boyfriend.  
  
Sousuke meanwhile, tried to process the sight before him and was filled with an extremely warm feeling in his heart. He wanted to go and wipe the tears from Makoto's face but he resisted, instead watching Ren and Ran wipe their brother's face for him and shower Makoto with the love he had been denied for so long back in Homeworld. It was as if Makoto was never on that nurse's bed wishing the world would end while Sousuke was trapped in his own pit of self pity, hoping desperately that if he waited long enough his siblings would find him and they could be a family again.  
  
Makoto had killed that version of himself when he took Sousuke's hand and decided to travel the galaxy to find his siblings and he had accomplished that new goal in less than a day. Sousuke grinned and decided that even if he didn't find his precious Rin on this distant planet, seeing Makoto light up like the world had suddenly shone for him when his siblings appeared had made the trip worth risking their lives for because finding his kind of happiness on Homeworld was so rare.  
  
That made the joyous glint in Makoto's green eyes all the more beautiful.  
  
"Someone is extremely happy for someone else." Nitori put a finger to his chin, deep in thought while he distracted Sousuke from his pondering. "I wonder _why_."  
  
"Nitori, we've been through this I am not interested in anyone else." Sousuke bluntly said, crossing his arms. He still hadn't entirely forgiven Nitori for what he said on the ship. "Makoto and I are _just friends_."  
  
"Me thinks my brother protests too much!" Sousuke rolled his eyes and smirked in spite of himself.  
  
"Shut up you or you're the one who is gonna get showered with brotherly kisses next!" Nitori squealed as Sousuke began chasing him around the debris, Ren and Ran joining in the fun while their older brother desperately tried to calm them down as if he had never left his role as their older sibling. Kou joined in screaming "Am I the captain or am I the mother of this crew, which is it?" while Sei cooed "Kou would make such a wonderful mother!" This caused Kou to roll her eyes.  
  
Sousuke's thoughts about the whole situation was: _'not five minutes on this planet and we're already acting like a crazy family. Wonderful.'_  
  


* * *

  
  
"I'm an awful captain."  
  
"You're only saying that because you are tired and stressed out." Sousuke said as he helped Kou put more wood into the fire. "Get a good night's rest and you'll feel better."  
  
"A nap is not going to change the fact that our ship crashed and we found Earth by pure luck!"  
  
"Kou, can you control meteorites and spies? If the answer is no, then you've got nothing to feel bad about." Sousuke threw another piece of wood into the fire. "These things happen."  
  
"Yeah, they happen to a terrible captain."  
  
Sousuke sighed.  
  
"Would a terrible captain have charmed enemy spies into joining our crew? Would a terrible captian look out for the health and safety of our crew the way you do? Would a terrible captain have managed to get not only 5, but _seven_ gems into space without Yellow Diamond finding out about it until the last minute? Kou, you're a great captain and you have _so_ much to be proud of. Don't let this turn of events get you down."  
  
Kou pouted.  
  
"Well I don't know about the charming part. I think Makoto joined may have been charmed by you more than me." she gave a cheeky wink.  
  
"I'll ignore the implications of that comment because you're finally smiling." Sousuke smirked. "You know I only have eyes for your brother. It's no secret." he waved the wrist with his friendship bracelet on it around, grinning smugly as if he won a contest.  
  
"Well, you know if you and my brother hooked up I'd be supportive but don't ignore your feelings, whether they're romantic or platonic. Life is _short_ Sousuke and I've seen the way you and Makoto act around each other in the short time you've been together." Kou said, getting serious. "If you spend too much time waiting around for my brother, you might miss out on something really great with Makoto. Trust me, don't repress your feelings in the hopes you might have something which is not here, instead of something that is real and wonderful."   
  
Sousuke snorted, ignoring Kou's advice.   
  
"We're not all you Kou and besides, I'm sure if I pounced on poor Makoto he'd have the same reaction as Seijuro did. Tell me, does Sei still blush while thinking about your confession?"  
  
"Get shattered Sousuke!" Kou made a rude gesture as she left to go get some much needed rest, leaving Sousuke to laugh his butt off by the fire side. It was his turn to keep look out, in case any more gems appeared. Ren and Ran were on what was called an intelligence mission, hunting and gathering more information on the plant life of this planet. They took after their brother and were Pink Diamond's top medical gems. Imagine, holding such an important mission at the age of 12! Makoto had glowed with pride and Sousuke couldn't blame him, it was an achievement to be truly proud of.  
  
But medic gems or not, they still had a bed time to keep to and Makoto would not be swayed, no matter how much he had missed his siblings.   
  
"Phew! They finally went to bed! Now I can get some shut eye." Makoto laughed, joining Sousuke by his side. Sousuke smirked, noticing how Makoto would have shyly asked if he could have a seat before but now the gem was so confident and happy he could casually cosy up to the other gem like it was no big deal. The change in Makoto was great.   
  
"Well you won't get it here Makoto, I am just as bad as Ren and Ran. Maybe even worse!" this made Makoto giggle-snort again and Sousuke held his chin in his hand, watching the way the emerald gem's eyes would crinkle.   
  
"I couldn't get any rest without thanking you first." Sousuke frowned when Makoto stopped laughing and looked very serious. "Back at Homeworld, back on the ship I was so... weak and helpless. I had no one and allowed myself to wallow in my sadness. Sousuke, if you hadn't reached out to me and got me to see sense I would have never seen Ren and Ran again."   
  
Makoto's eyes glittered in the moonlight and the blaze of the campfire, holding Sousuke's complete attention.   
  
"I'm sorry for being weak and I'm sorry for wallowing in self pity. I can't thank you enough for saving me not only back on Homeworld, but back on the Lady Samezuka. If I were alone I would have perished and withered away under the pressure, but from now on I promise to be strong and self sufficient. I promise to be more like you and make it on my own. To become more independent." Makoto gasped when the other gem took his hand and gave it a gentle, affectionate squeeze. "Sousuke?"   
  
"I want you to forget everything you said just now Makoto because you are one of the strongest gems I know." Sousuke said, never tearing his gaze away from the gem in front of him.   
  
"But-"  
  
"No buts!" Sousuke snapped. "You are not weak for missing your family and crying for them, living for them! Makoto, if I had been lost and alone as you were back on Homeworld I would have lost my mind along time ago. The only reason I'm still here is because I had the support of my friends. They gave me hope and strength on days where I just wanted to disappear and die because I _failed_ to protect my best friend. I am marvelled by your very existence Makoto because if I had to grieve for a loss like that alone, I know I would have succumbed to it. Don't delude yourself into thinking I am the strong one Makoto because you truly are the strongest gem right here in this campfire."   
  
Sousuke cringed when he noticed he had been squeezing Makoto's hand so hard it left a hand print, so he let go and stuttered an apology.   
  
"I'm sorry. I- I don't know what I was thinking-" Sousuke's breath was taken away when the other gem grabbed the hand he had removed and placed it on his chest.   
  
"It's okay. I love your passion Sousuke." Makoto said as bright sparks dance acrossed his eyes, reminding Sousuke of the meteorites that killed the Lady Samezuka. But Sousuke couldn't bring himself to be angry at the sight and just got lost in Makoto's mesmerising gaze. "Thank you for making me feel like my suffering was worth enduring to be here. I'm _so_  happy we're friends."   
  
Sousuke swallowed, his mouth becoming painfully dry all of a sudden before he closed his eyes and groaned at a sudden pain pulsating in his shoulder. He reluctantly removed his hand from Makoto's and closed his eyes, counting to ten like Rin taught him to when the pain become really bad. 

"Oh dear! Sousuke, do you need me to take a look at that?" Makoto reached out to Sousuke, but he waved him away.   
  
"No, no, it's fine."   
  
"Sousuke-"   
  
"Really Makoto-it's okay." he grunted, trying to ignore how nice it was having Makoto's arm around his shoulders. "I just need some sleep."   
  
"Are you sure?" Makoto asked, edging closer and making Sousuke uncomfortable in a not unpleasant way. "I am a medic gem, I could have a look at it again if you like."   
  
"No, no this is just a regular crack-in-the-gem problem. It'll pass with some rest." Sousuke reluctantly rose from his seat and turned his back to Makoto to hide the red blush staining his cheeks. "Good night Makoto. Have sweet dreams"   
  
Makto wished the same for Sousuke, but Sousuke knew Makoto was watching him with worry as he left for the cave everyone else was resting in.   
  
It really was just a regular shoulder problem, but Sousuke was beginning to think that wasn't his _only_ problem anymore. 

_'He's got such pretty eyes and he cares about me so much.'_ Sousuke thought to himself as he laid down on the ground. _'And the way he gets me all fired up when he's near me... I've got a problem.'_ Sousuke groaned.   
  
He _hated_ it when Nitori and Kou were right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Makoto finally found Ren and Ran! Yay! 
> 
> But where are Rin and Haru? 
> 
> Only the twins know the answer to that!


	5. Ren and Ran Tachibana

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Tachibana family reunion does not last for long.

Sousuke had figured out a healthy way to deal with his not quite platonic feelings for Makoto.  
  
He decided to ignore them.  
  
Okay yes it was the exact  _opposite_  of what Kou had advised, but Sousuke knew he would get over this crush! He was just slightly infatuated with Makoto because he obviously missed Rin and was craving for some romantic affection. And Makoto was naturally a very affectionate person, so it was plausible for Sousuke to be drawn to him! So once Sousuke was reunited with Rin, these feelings would go away and he could go back to feeling comfortable in his  _platonic_  relationship with Makoto. After all, how could one silly crush replace years of yearning?  
  
If only the universe agreed with Sousuke's hypothesis.  
  
"Are you my brother's boyfriend?" Ren's sweet brown eyes innocently looked up at Sousuke as they walked with the crew to the Earth Gem headquarters. Ren and Ran said it would only take an hour for them to get there by foot, but under the twins' interrogation it felt like it was going to be longer. "Because you sure seemed happy to see him when you found him in the crash!"

"What?!" Sousuke shouted a little louder than neccessary and blushed. Had Ren and Ran been watching them?! Oh goodness, they must have seen everything before they finally reached Makoto. Great.  
  
"Don't be silly Ren, OF COURSE they're boyfriends! They cuddled and Sou-nii chan sniffed Makoto's hair! That's something people do when they are in love! Have you not been reading the books Kisumi gave us about relationships?" Ran put her hands on her hips and gave a 'shame on you' look to her younger brother, which Ren ignored to eye Sousuke's red ears.  
  
"Books? What books?" Makoto cried, looking startled and blushing so hard the colour red had spread to his neck. "What has Kisumi been telling you?"  
  
"About the birds and the bees! And how they make beautiful babies together!"  
  
Before Makoto could have a heart attack right then and there because he knew how  _graphic_  and  _unsightly_  organic reproduction could be, Kou approached the Tachibana twins and crouched down to their level.  
  
"That sounds very interesting, Ren and Ran! Did anyone else teach you about the reproductive systems of life on this planet?" Sousuke sighed in relief, the subject finally moving away from romance. Kou wasn't really asking about the birds and the bees, but if Ren and Ran knew any of the crew's friends and loved ones. "Did anyone named Haru or Rin help you? What about a girl with beautiful red hair?"  
  
Ren looked like he was going to speak up immedietly before his sister smacked him on the arm and glared at him. For a minute it seemed like they were using their special bond as twins to telepathically communicate, Ran using her eyebrows to convey her ire with her younger brother while Ren pouted to convey something else to his big sister.  
  
Their sweet but mysterious interactions both fascinated and annoyed Sousuke. What were they discussing? Had they seen Rin or Haru? Had they met Seijuro and Momo's sister, who also went missing during Pink Diamond's mission? Darn it, if only Sousuke could speak twin!  
  
"We're friends with a gem named Natsumi! She's got red hair!" Ren finally offered up a bit of information.  
  
At this new both Seijuro and Momo cried with joy when they recognised the name, before the youngest of the two glomped his older brother and screamed "She's alive, she's alive!" while Seijuro just let the tears come down his cheeks. Kou and Nitori both smiled at their boyfriends, sharing in their happiness as they both knew how much they had missed their sister.  
  
Sousuke was happy for them too, but that didn't make him less anxious to know the fate of his best friend.  
  
He breathed in and asked the question.  
  
"And Rin? And Haru?" Makoto smiled at Sousuke for thinking of him. Sousuke returned it, not afraid to break away from Makoto's gaze this time.  
  
It was Ran's turn to speak up.  
  
"Rin and Haru are okay." she said with a serious expression. Sousuke waited for Ran to say more but not another word passed her lips.  
  
"They're okay? They're walking, talking, breathing?" Kou asked. "Are they happy?"  
  
Ren bit his lip to hold in something, before he burst out: "Yes! They're  _very_ happy!"  
  
"And that's all we're telling you!" Ran spat out, crossing her arms.  
  
All the gems stood there in silence, shocked by Ran's determination to stay quiet while they were desperate for information. Makoto joined Kou at her level to talk to his siblings.  
  
"Ran, Ren, is there something important you're not telling us? Because it's  _very mean_  to keep information about Kou's brother to yourself when she's been  _very worried_ about his safety for a very long time. Remember, you were just in the same position as Kou so if there's something you should tell Kou you should tell her now." Sousuke's heart sank at Makoto's words and the way Ran looked as if she was going to crumble under her older brother's kind, but firm stare.  
  
"WE CAN'T TELL YOU BECAUSE IT'S NOT OUR PLACE TO SAY!" she shouted, blushing red. "When you see Rin and Haru again, you can ask them about it okay! They're fine, we just can't tell you about them!"  
  
Makoto blinked.  
  
"About them? You're keeping a secret  _for_ them?" he asked and Ran and Ren both nodded. "Are you sure you can't tell me what that secret is?"  
  
"Yes." Ran said. "I'm not telling because I  _promised_  not to tell! Rin made me double pinkie promise swear because he said  _he_ had to hear the truth from him!"  Ran pointed at Sousuke and the turqoise gem did a double take. What on Earth would compel Rin to get a child to swear secrecy?  
  
"Well... Okay Ran. If it's that important, I suppose we can wait until we see Haru and Rin again."  
  
"Are you  _sure_  Makoto?" Kou asked. "Are you  _sure_  we should wait until then?" Sousuke almost laughed at how impatient Kou could be. She was on the edge of her seat and obviously frustrated that she couldn't bribe or bully the twins into spilling the beans.  
  
"If Haru asked Ren and Ran to keep a secret, then I'm sure it was for a good reason." Makoto smiled. Sousuke frowned at the mention of that gem's name on Makoto's lips. "I trust Haru to not make Ren and Ran stay quiet about something that would threaten their safety or wellbeing."  
  
"Well... Okay... If that's how you feel... I guess." Kou started biting her nails and staring wide eyed into space. Seijuro laughed at this display of nervous behaviour and held his girlfriend's hand.  
  
"Relax captain, an hour will just fly by! And I'm sure whatever the secret is, it's a good one." Seijuro winked at the twins and they gave a sigh of relief.  
  
Sousuke's romantic frustrations were now replaced with irate curiousity. Darn it, Makoto was like a wizard with these kids! Why couldn't he trick them or make them tell them what the secret was? If it were Sousuke he had sat there staring at the kids until they crumbled under the pressure to tell the truth, but Makoto's interrogation style was clearly different from his own. Sousuke was completely in love with Makoto's sweet nature, but he could see how annoying his 'let's wait and give them a chance approach' problem solving skills-  
  
Wait did Sousuke say  _completely in love_?  
  
 _'Gosh darn it Sousuke, you're in love with Rin! Get it together!'_ Sousuke rubbed his temples, feeling a strong headache coming on and a loud ringing in his ears.  
  
Wait. Ringing in his ears. That wasn't a normal problem for Sousuke.  
  
That wasn't a normal sound for a gem's ears to make at all.  
  
It was coming from an artificial source.  
  
A loud, threatening artificial source that was looming over them and casting a big shadow on the group.   
  
"IT'S A HOMEWORLD SHIP! RUN!" Ren and Ran screamed, letting go of Sousuke's hands to flee for their lives. The turqoise gem nearly had a heart attack right on the spot as he saw the huge, white vessal but his instincts took over. When he saw a cannon being aimed at Makoto's siblings, he didn't hesitate to jump forward to protect them.   
  
Unfortunately, Makoto had the same idea when he leapt to block the Homeworld ship's gunfire.   
  
"What the j-" Sousuke cried and tried to push through the webbing he and Makoto were now caught in. "I don't believe this!"   
  
It appears whoever was driving the Homeworld ship was out fishing for gems and they had caught Makoto and Sousuke in their net. They could both hear their friends calling out for them before they were pulled inside the ship, their entire world going dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the next chapter, two very important characters finally make their debut! *wink wink*


	6. Sakura The Fusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kou sees the beauty of fusion for the first time and Sousuke begins to have doubts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was originally much longer, but I didn't want to keep you guys waiting. To be honest, I think y'all have been waiting long enough. 
> 
> I apologise for the delay in updates but they happened for a good reason, after months of searching I now have a job! :D 
> 
> It'll take me another week to get used to my new workplace but in the mean time I'll try to update at least once a month or update with shorter chapters. Getting a job has put me into some really good spirits, so it shouldn't be a hard feat to accomplish. I really enjoyed writing this chapter so I hope you guys enjoy reading it. Thank you for your patience!

Kou didn't even have to think about running toward Ran and Ren. She leapt forward, pulled her ribbons from her gem and smacked the pincers of the Homeworld ship away.   
  
Her heart nearly stopped when the ship made an annoyed buzzing sound and glared at her.   
  
_'Calm down Kou, that thing's not alive and it's probably got a coward for a captain hiding in its shell. You're okay.'_ Kou's heartbeat didn't slow down but she was pleased that the Homeworld ship was ignoring Ren and Ran, until a laser gun emerged from the ship. Kou lost her shield in the wreckage of the Lady Samezuka and her ribbons couldn't protect her from the blast. She heard Seijuuro screaming for her as the red light of the laser gun signalled that it would be only a few seconds before the ship would blast her gem to smithereens.  
  
She took a deep breath and prepared herself for the end. She'd seen gems try and fail to scramble away from these ships before so she knew there was no time to run away. If she was going to die, she wasn't going to run around like a headless chicken. She refused to give Homeworld the satisfaction of thinking she was scared.   
  
"I'm sorry Rin." she whispered to herself before she closed her eyes.   
  
The sound of the laser gun grew louder and louder, until a loud clang of metal pierced the air.   
  
Kou's eyes snapped open.   
  
"Huh?" she could hardly believe what she was seeing.   
  
A gem, a very tall one with four arms and pink hair stood with their back turned to her. They held a katana in two of their hands, while the other pair of arms formed a protective stance in front of the apatite gem. The smoke coming from their weapon confirmed Kou's suspicions.   
  
"A-a fusion!" Kou gasped as her ruby coloured eyes sparkled when she realised that they had cut down the laser cannon. "I was saved by a fusion!"  
  
Kou was completely entranced by this new, foreign entity that she had only read about in books. On Homeworld fusion was forbidden unless it was between two gems of the same type, and even then they were only allowed to become one being for the purpose of war or servitude. Gems were absolutely forbidden to use fusion as a way to connect with other gems, especially gems of a different type, cut or class.   
  
Kou wasn't an expert on fusion by any means, a greater understanding of the phenomenon had been denied to her as only a select few gems were allowed to study or practice fusion. However by looking at the Padparadscha diamond on this beautiful gem's back and the extra limbs they seemed to possess, she could tell that this gem wasn't made by traditional means. Their unique appearance and the confident aura they held in battle told her that this gem had been made with the one thing Homeworld seemed to lack.   
  
Love.   
  
"Such beautiful muscles!" Kou squealed, admiring the physique. Whoever this fusion used to be, they both had stunning figures! And a gorgeous voice! 

"Give it up Sasabe, you can't beat me! Leave this gem alone and give back those two gems you've kidnapped, or you'll face the consequences!" the Padparadascha said, glaring at the ship and refusing to move from him protective stance in front of Kou. If Kou didn't have a boyfriend it would have made her swoon.   
  
"Ah yes, Sakura just let me..." The Homeworld gem named 'Sasabe' quickly dropped their fighting stance, drove their ship into a jog and flew in the other direction, leaving everyone completely stunned.   
  
Kou was absolutely gobsmacked.   
  
This fusion gem named 'Sakura' must have been a ferocious warrior, for she had never seen another gem run from battle so fast in all her life.  
  
Well, whomever Sasabe was she couldn't blame him. Sakura had just cut down a freaking laser cannon without even breaking a sweat.  
  
"Kou!" the girl in question breathed a sigh of relief when Seijuuro ran towards her and enveloped her in his arms. Tempted as she was by Sakura's muscles, she wouldn't trade them for the love and comfort of Sei's warm embrace and sweet, cinnamon scent. "Are you all right? Are you hurt anywhere sweetie?"

"Oh relax, I'm fine." Kou smiled. "Thanks to this guy at least." she turned to look at Sakura. The fusion was ignoring Ran and Ren's squeals of joy and Nagisa, Nitori and Momo's gawping faces to walk over to the apatite gem.

"Kou... Kou..." Sakura repeated softly, looking at said gem like he was trying to remember something. "As in... Gou?"   
  
"Hey buddy!" Seijuuro snapped, not letting go of Kou for one second. "You can't call Kou that! She doesn't like it, okay? You may have saved her life, but ya still gotta respect her boundaries!"   
  
"But Gou is such a pretty name. It's the name Dad gave her."   
  
Kou gasped, leaning in close to Sei for support as her fingers gripped his sleeves until they turned white.  
  
It was in that moment she noticed other little things about Sakura. His sharp nose… His pointy, shark-like teeth… His raspy voice…  
  
It was then that Kou realised she had heard a raspy voice like that on a distant planet, one where it had made her laugh when times were tough and told her stories of distant worlds where they could one day escape their hardships.  
  
The first of many tears rolled down her face.   
  
"Rin?"  


* * *

  
Light returned to Sousuke's world at the wrong place and time.   
  
"Oh dear, I'm so sorry Sousuke. We're in quite an awkward position." Makoto blushed as he was quite literally facing Sousuke and sitting in the turquoise gem's lap. The metal and knife-proof netting left little legroom and the lack of space was starting to make both gems heat up.   
  
"It's okay, it's not your fault." Sousuke said, but inside he was  _screaming_. He chided himself for being so unfaithful to Rin but he liked being so close to the gorgeous gem sat on his lap, with his arms wrapped around his neck. Great Diamond, it was taking all of Sousuke's willpower to not just bridge the gap between them and kiss Makoto until he was breathless, especially when he was blushing like that. "It's damn Homeworld's fault. If they weren't so tyrannical, we wouldn't have had to save Ren and Ran."   
  
The only thing stopping Sousuke was his feelings for Rin and the possibility Makoto didn't feel the same way. Makoto did have Haru, after all... Stupid, probably adorable Haru who had been Makoto's best friend since they were kids.... Wait a minute, why was Sousuke's getting jealous of a gem he had never even met before?! He had no right to be so envious, especially since he was the one being unfaithful here!  
  
Or was he?  
  
To be honest Sousuke had no idea how Rin felt about him. Love, lust or platonic adoration… There were times where Sousuke thought Rin might have felt the same way but then he'd babble on about how important his friendships were to him in one of his sappy, romantic speeches about the joys of platonic relationships. Had Rin really been thinking about friendship or had his mind wandered to more romantic possibilities while he was with Sousuke? Was the friendship bracelet Rin had made for Sousuke a subtle way of communicating his not-so-friendly feelings to the bonehead? Did Rin cradle Sousuke in his lap while he cried his eyes out after _the incident_  because he wanted to be there as a friend? Or was that kind of intimacy only reserved for lovers?

When Sousuke refused Rin’s offer to fuse after the incident, did Rin feel like his romantic feelings for Sousuke were being rejected?   
  
Sousuke wanted to scream again. Makoto was making him question everything he had believed in or thought to be true.   
  
"Maybe, but if I had kept out of the way you might have had time to escape." Makoto said, pouting in a way that suggested he felt guilty.  
  
Sousuke smiled and cupped Makoto's cheek without even thinking.  
  
"And I'd be out of my mind worrying you. Can you imagine? A big burly gem like me tearing his hair out while making his buddy's younger sibs cry? It's not a good look, Makoto."  
  
"You always know how to cheer me up." Makoto giggled. "I'm glad you're here with me too."  
  
Sousuke grinned as his heart sung at that beautiful sound coming from Mako's throat.  
  
In spite of the confusion Makoto caused, Sousuke felt the same way about the emerald gem.  
  
"Goooood moooooorning!" Sousuke groaned as a loud, booming voice disrupted 'the moment.' He could spot the image of a yellow kunzite gem who was several years their senior enter the dungeon with a flourish, accompanied by a spectacled blue pearl who appeared to shrink under Sousuke’s annoyed gaze.   
  
The turquoise swore on his life that the second he was released from this prison that he was gonna free the blue pearl and wipe that smug grin off of the yellow kunzite’s face. 

He’d always wanted to punch an upper class gem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be prepared for some Rinharu feels and a little bit of Sousuke angst!


	7. The Disgraced Lord Sasabe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasabe is determined to rise from his fall from grace while Kou is finally reunited with her brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry I haven't updated this fic in nearly half a year, real life problems and lack of energy made writing difficult but I'm back now and regular updates should be consistent now I'm not juggling two multi-chapter stories at the same time. Steven Universe coming back to our screens has also really helped inspire me. 
> 
> Enjoy this chapter and again, my apologies for being gone so long.

“I can’t believe it! My sister! And my best friend! Together!” Although Rin was now a part of a fusion and technically a different person, Kou was both glad and dismayed to see that her brother was still a huge softie.  
  
“Are you okay Sakura-nii?” Ren asked.  
  
“Yeah, please don’t cry Sakura-nii!” Ran said.  
  
“It’s okay little ones, I am crying because I am happy!”  
  
“All right buddy, we know.” Seijuuro said, affectionately patting his kouhai on the head. “But you gotta chill.”  
  
“Yeah Bro, you’re crushing me. I’m also getting snot on my shoulder!” Kou cried.  
  
“I’M SORRY BUT I’M JUST. SO. HAPPY FOR YOU.” Sakura finally let go of them to pull out a handkerchief from one of his pockets and  _blow._  Everyone winced at how loud he was. “I’m so glad my baby sister settled down and found a nice gem. The name change, however, I’m curious about…”

Kou sighed.   
  
“Gou was the little girl who needed protecting back on Homeworld. Kou is the young woman who gained Yellow Diamond’s confidence and led a jailbreak from Homeworld.” she said, crossing her arms. Sakura looked at Sei to ask ‘is that true?’ and the redheaded gem nodded.  
  
“OH MY GOSH!” Sakura cried. “My sister is not only adorable, but she is a genius! I AM SO PROUD!” he said as he enveloped Kou into his arms and twirled her around.  
  
“I hope whoever you fused with likes cuddles!” Kou cried, giggling and giving into the affection.  
  
“For your information Haru loves Rin’s cuddles!” he joined her and they laughed like they had never been separated. After a few more spins Sakura put Kou down and spotted a familiar face. “Ai? Is that you?”  
  
“Y-Yes! Rin-senpai, I mean Sakura-senpai!” The moonstone gem stuttered, straightening his back. “Nitori reporting for duty!"  
  
“Oh my gosh, look at you! You’ve gotten so cute and confident!” Sakura rushed over to ruffle Nitori’s silver hair, barely noticing the blush on his little cheeks. “I remember a time when you would have never called Rin by his first name!”  
  
“Hey! I’m the only one who’s allowed to call him cute! I’m his boyfriend!” Momo huffed as jealousy reared its ugly head.  
  
“And Momo is so grown-up too! Natsumi is gonna be so proud of the gem you’ve become when she sees you!” Sakura ignored Momo’s cries of indignation as he noogied the other redhead for old time’s sake. “I’m so glad all of the old gang is here!”  
  
“Um, Sakura?” Kou said. “What about Sousuke?”  
  
When Kou uttered the name it was like she had broken Sakura’s brain.  
  
“What?”  
  
“Sousuke. Your best friend! The guy who got kidnapped! The gem who needs rescuing, right now. I think if we follow these footsteps we can guess where the kidnapper went…”  
  
But after Kou uttered the name ‘Sousuke,’ Sakura had stopped listening to her.

* * *

“Ohohoho! What is this? Rei, I do believe we have a pair of lovebirds, rather than jailbirds in my cell!” Sasabe wiggled his eyebrows at the sight of Makoto sitting in Sousuke’s lap. Rei blushed and refused to remove his gaze from the ground, appearing to be internally screaming at his master’s perverse nature. Sousuke could sympathise. He was seriously gonna knock this guy’s lights out.  
  
“Not that it’s any of your business you pile rubble, but Makoto and I are just friends. Comrades. Nothing more.” Sousuke tried not to notice at how Makoto frowned at that statement. “So mind your own business and please kindly let us go if you don’t want a butt whooping by yours truly. Would you like me to name the number of gems who-” Sousuke was about to mention the number of gems he cracked, until he remembered that that was how Makoto’s own parents died. “Still got footprint marks on their ass thanks to me?” 

“Ugh! How crude! But what do you expect from a gem of the warrior class, right Rei?” Sasabe gave the blue pearl a good shove with his elbow when he hesitated to give an answer.

“I-it’s not beautiful, sir!” Rei said, not tearing his gaze away from the floor. Sousuke frowned. The way Rei refused to look any of them in the eye reminded Sousuke of the way Nitori behaved before Rin had ‘rescued’ him from his former master. “Not beautiful at all!”

“Darn right! We’ll have to teach this gem some manners before I hand him over to Yellow Diamond. Once she sees how I’ve captured these runaway gems and interrogated them for information about The Rebellion, she will HAVE to let me come back to Homeworld!”

“We would rather die than tell you anything!” Makoto cried as he gripped the netting and glared at Sasabe through the gaps. “LONG LIVE PINK DIAMOND!”

“Watch your mouth boy or I’ll have your gem cracked for treason!” Sasabe shouted, slamming the end of his cane against the floor. “Don’t be like those other Tachibana brats! You’re the eldest Tachibana bro, right? Think of what happened to your parents when they sided with Yellow Diamond! They became gem dust for nothing!”

Sousuke could have sworn he heard Makoto snarl at Sasabe, but Sasabe didn’t seem to notice the outrage that pulsed through Makoto’s body. Rei cowered in fear at the sight of the usually docile Makoto glaring at them, but that hostile expression on Makoto’s face made Sousuke want to reach out and pet him as if he were a cat that needed to be soothed.   

“Now, if you behave like a good little gem I may spare you the same fate as your dear mama and papa-” But Sousuke didn’t feel that Sasabe deserved to be saved from Makoto’s rage.

“LONG LIVE PINK DIAMOND! LONG LIVE PINK DIAMOND! LONG LIVE PINK DIAMOND!”

Sousuke vaguely remembered Pink Diamond from his old days as a new cadet, but he joined Makoto in his chanting. Makoto’s enthusiasm and loyalty to the old monarch was infectious and to be quite honest, Sousuke was enjoying seeing Makoto’s rare rebellious side.

It made the urge to kiss him resurge with a vengeance. If only Sasabe could have stayed quiet.  

“Now see here-”

“LONG. LIVE. PINK. DIAMOND!” Makoto barked at him. “My parents did not die for nothing and I bet my best friend is still out there with Pink Diamond fighting the good fight! I refuse to keep living my life in fear while my family is doing their best for gemkind while the upper classes treat us like rubble! So you can kindly take your mercy and get janked!” 

Rei squealed in horror and dropped all his paper work in order to cover his offended ears. Sasabe made a comical show of banging his cane against the floor and crying ‘how dare you!’ or ‘you’ll pay for that!’ or ‘you’ll gem dust by tomorrow morning, I swear!’ while Sousuke… Well, Sousuke didn’t hear a word of what Sasabe or Rei had to say because all his attention was focused on Makoto.

“Wow…” he sighed, entranced by Makoto’s ferocity. When Makoto turned to look at Sousuke, he quickly turned his head to hide his admiration.

“I’m sorry Sousuke, you’re gonna get executed because of me.”

“Seeing you tell off that pile of rubble will be worth whatever horrible thing they decide to do to us.” Sousuke said, meaning every word. “I’m proud of you Makoto.”

In spite of the terrible racket Sasabe was making, Makoto and Sousuke blushed and smile at each other. It was as if they were in their own little perfect world and Sousuke wished that he was be able to stay there forever because it was so beautifully simple. He didn’t have to worry about his conflicting emotion or figure out what he was gonna do with his romantic life, he could just _be there_ with Makoto.  Heck, he’d trade his gem to have just spent a little more time alone with Makoto because in less than a minute his world was going to turn into gem dust.

Sousuke held onto Makoto as a heard a loud noise tear through the metal of Sasabe’s Homeworld ship, slicing a big hole through it. Sousuke barely saw the tiny blue sapphire gem run forward and point his katana at Sasabe’s throat.

“Haru!” Makoto cried with happy tears in his eyes.

Haruka’s grand entrance into the Homeworld ship was where Sousuke’s world started to crash and burn.


	8. Rin Matsuoka the Lover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not even being split apart can hurt Rin and Haru's relationship, but Rin wonders if his friendship with Sousuke will survive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rinharu fluff and Matsuoka sibling goodness ahoy. 
> 
> Also, Momo is a romantic.

Meanwhile, the Lady Samezuka crew did not know how to help Sakura.

“Rin? RIN?” Kou cried as she watched her brother convulse in pain, looking as if he was struggling to keep himself together. “What’s happening to my brother?”

“It’s going to be okay!” Sakura said to himself. “It’s going to be okay, Sousuke will understand!”

“No he won’t! You don’t understand, Sousuke isn’t like us!”

“Sousuke doesn’t have to be like us!”

“But he won’t understand! He won’t understand!”

“He will! He will!”

“Big bro do something! Rin- I mean Sakura is losing his marbles!” Momo cried as he watched Sakura’s body shift and pulse, a blue hole opening up in the centre of his stomach. It was as if Sakura was being split in two by evil forces unknown.

“He’s not losing his marbles, he’s unfusing!” Ran said. “Sakura’s feeling conflicted!”

“It happens sometimes when a fusion is having problems.” Ren said.

“Is there something we can do?” Kou asked, clinging to the Tachibana twins.

“Afraid not. If Sakura is coming apart, there’s not a lot Haru and Rin can do about it, other than work out their problems!” Ran said.

“OH MY GEM HE’S UNFUSING! HE’S UNFUSING!” Seijuuro cried as Sakura burst into a white light, as if he had turned into a fireworks display.

At first, Kou screamed while the others looked in horror, but Ren and Ran cried “See! It’s Rin and Haru!”

One blue sapphire gem laid on top of a flustered and upset ruby gem. The ruby gem pushed the sapphire gem off of him to look away from his lover and tightly hug himself. Kou was about to cry ‘Onii-chan!’ but stopped when the blue sapphire tried to reach out for him.

“No Haru!” Rin slapped his hand away. “I’m sorry Haru, but I just, I can’t…”

And that was when Rin started getting weepy. When the tears started falling, you can bet that Kou ran towards Rin like her life depended on it.

“Hey, don’t cry Rin.” Haru said.

“I can’t help it!” Rin said. “I’m the worst, I-I’m-”

 “Oh Rin, listen…” Kou said.

“Rin.” Haru interrupted Kou. Haru looked to her for permission to go on. One look into those sincere blue eyes and Kou was powerless to say no. She nodded and watched as Haru gently grabbed Rin’s hand. Rin stopped crying when Haru looked deeply into his eyes.

“It’s okay. I understand.” Haru said. “We don’t have to be Sakura if you don’t want to.”

“B-but I love being Sakura, it’s just Sousuke…” Rin frowned, turning away from Haru’s gaze only for Haru to cup his chin in his palm.  

“We will figure something out. We’ll make Sousuke understand. Until then, we can be Rin and Haru if that’s what you want.” Haru smiled as he wiped another tear from Rin’s chin. “And do you know what’s nice about being split up?”

“N-no.” Rin stuttered. He blushed when Haru took a step closer and whispered,  

“I get to look at you.” Rin snickered and slapped Haru on the shoulder, muttering ‘be serious’ before the other gem grabbed him by the waist and started kissing his neck. Kou went from being happy for her brother to backing the heck away from the affectionate display because boy was it awkward as heck for her. The Tachibana twins shared her sentiments as they shouted ‘cooties’ at Rin and Haru kissing, while Seijuuro and Momo started whistling and looking at anything but the kissing. Nitori slapped Momo on the cheek for trying to cop a feel during the sweet, tender moment that was taking place.

“Momo, don’t use other people’s romantic angst to try and get lucky!” Nitori said.

“I wasn’t! I was swept up in the romance! I promise!” Nitori rolled his eyes at Momo.

Rin and Haru hardly cared about what was happening around them, especially when Haru finally gave Rin a proper goodbye kiss.

“I will go save Makoto and Sousuke.” He said. “You can stay here with your sister and figure out what you want to say to Sousuke.”

Rin opened his mouth to protest but Kou said “That sounds like a lovely idea future brother in law!”

“Oi!” Rin cried, his cheeks burning a hot red colour. He wanted to glare at his sister, but instead chose to bid his boyfriend goodbye. “Fine. I’ll work things out here with Kou. Be safe and… I love you.”

“I love you too.” Haru smiled before he removed his katana from its sheath and followed the path of wreckage the Homeworld spaceship left. Ren and Ran followed him, while the Mikoshiba brothers shouted ‘wait for us!’ or ‘we can help!’ Nitori gave Rin a quick hug and told him “Good luck senpai!” before he followed the others into battle.

“Well, well, well…” Kou smirked. “Hasn’t finding true love made you rosy!”

“Kou, please don’t tease me!” Rin groaned, burying his face in his hands. “Love is embarrassing enough without your sister making comments!”

“Oh don’t be a big baby.” She winked and put her arm around his shoulder. “I’m just happy for you is all.”

“Yeah. I’m happy for you too.” He said before giving his sister a hug. “Sei’s a nice guy. I can’t believe Sousuke approved of the relationship though.”

“I don’t need his approval to date anyone and neither do you.” Kou said firmly.

“I know! But like I said, Sousuke HATES fusion.” Rin sighed. “I really, REALLY want him to like Haru but with his experience with fusion, he’s gonna think Haru has ulterior motives for being fused with me all the time.”

“Then you’ll just have to work extra hard to persuade him that that’s not the case.” Kou said.

“Yes, but how?” Rin asked.

“By telling him the truth.” Kou rolled her eyes as her brother groaned again. “It may be painful and difficult at first, but lying about your relationship will only make things more complicated in the long run.”

“So I have to get open and get honest?”

“Exactly.”

“Kou, sometimes I wish I didn’t have a sister as wise and pretty as you.” Rin said, nuzzling Kou’s forehead. “If Sousuke doesn’t wanna be my best friend anymore, will you take the position?”

“How rude! I obviously have had that role since birth before that pile of rubble usurped it!” Kou stuck her tongue out at Rin. “Don’t be silly, Sousuke will still be your friend. Why, I bet him and Sakura will be best friends before you know it!”

“I hope you’re right.” Rin said.

“Of course I am! In fact, let’s get the process started now by helping Haru rescue Sousuke!” Kou grinned up at a really peeved Rin.  

“Can’t we just stay at home and let our men take care of it?” Rin asked.

“No.” Kou said.

“Knew you’d say that.” Rin clicked his tongue in annoyance. “Fine, we’ll go.”  

"That's my boy!" Kou chuckled. 

"And Kou?" 

"Hmm?" 

"I'm happy you're here." he said, clinging to his sister's hand. "Thanks for coming to find me." 

"What are sisters for?" and with that the siblings ran into the sunset, holding hands the whole time.  


End file.
